Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(81)

“Like I said, I think so. I woke up in the van, and I heard them arguing. The big guy wanted to kill us all, but the female said something about the child and the child’s will. She felt they should honor what the child wanted. I know the baby wanted to protect Daniel.”

“Okay,” I sighed. At least Daniel and Neil were probably safe. “Just two more questions and then I think I’d like to die as peacefully as possible. One—is the baby all right? Are they treating her well, or are they pissed she’s human and not a tree?”

Dev’s eyes went soft. Damn, but he was a gorgeous man. “They wouldn’t hurt the child, and you have got to get it through your stubborn head that the baby isn’t human. She looks human, but she’s something else entirely. I don’t think they know what to do with her, but for now, they’re honoring her wishes.”

“Two—what are they planning to do with the three of us?”

Sarah piped up to answer this question. “We get to go to faery world and stand trial for crimes against magic or something. On the upside, I think Halfer will come for the two of us first.”

“Yay.” My sarcasm was as weak as my body. “So behind door number one, I get executed by a whole bunch of faeries, and behind door number two, I get raped by a demon and spend the rest of eternity on the Hell plane. Where’s door number three?”

“Ummm, really if you think about it, the most logical conclusion is you get executed by faeries. And from what I’ve seen, they don’t have a problem with torture. Once you’re dead, your contract kicks in and then you get raped by a demon on the Hell plane for eternity,” Sarah pointed out. “I don’t think there is a door number three.”

“Thank you, Sarah,” I said with a bitter laugh. “Great clarification.”

“Well, I’m in the same boat, Z.”

“Oh, not true. We are so not in the same boat,” I shot back. I was feeling less magnanimous now that I had an arrow sticking out of my gut. In the heat of the moment, I’d been willing to forgive just about anything, but pain was making me a crabby bitch. “You’re a witch. At least you get a job. I get to be his gimp. He’ll probably lead me around on a freaking chain, and you know what, I blame you. If you had kept out of it, none of this would have happened.”

“This is so not my fault,” Sarah replied with righteous indignation.

“Did you or did you not steal the money? And the only answer is yes, Zoey, I stole the money because you’re the only one who makes sense. You were alone with my dad, and you slipped him the hex bag, and then the next morning you slipped one into the coat I was wearing. You weren’t trying to get Neil. You slipped it to me at breakfast. Your fault!”

“Yes, I made the hex bags. I slipped one to your dad so he would take the money and one to you so you would cause a ton of chaos and Daniel would take you away. If you had stayed out of it, I could have gotten the Light on my own. I’m not the one who decided it would be a good idea to work for a demon.”

“No, you were just born into a family that serves one.”

Sarah huffed. “That isn’t fair.”

“Ladies, as much as I love a good girl fight, I find myself sadly lacking the Jell-O that would make this worthwhile,” Dev said quietly. “Keep it down or they’re going to come in here, and I really don’t want to get kicked in the groin again. If I’m going to die when we get to the Faery plane, I’d like to go out with the boys intact.”

Sarah and I frowned at each other, but we went back to our metaphorical corners.

“Fine. We’ll drop it for now. Sarah, why don’t you say some Latin stuff and get us out of here?” I wasn’t sure why she hadn’t done it before.

“Latin stuff? Like it’s that easy. Besides, they hit me with some sort of dust when I walked out. I can’t do anything. It must possess anti-magical properties. I’m sure it will wear off, but then I would have the problem of the wards they’ve placed all over. They aren’t making the same mistakes this time.”

Dev was trying to get himself in a seated position, contorting his lean body and twisting. I was the reason he was here. I knew damn well I should have found a way to keep him out of this, but my hormones had taken over my decision-making process, and now Dev was going to die. Even though I was back with Daniel, I still cared about Dev. I still felt a connection to him, one I didn’t want snuffed out by death. If Sarah couldn’t get us out, then it was up to me.

And then I had one of those really awful ideas. I get them sometimes and they tend to be fueled by desperation, but I almost always follow through. I sighed and prepared myself for some really painful moments because those awful, wretched ideas I have almost always cause me pain.

I braced myself. Clenched my teeth. Told myself to be ready for it. But even with the best of intentions, I couldn’t stop the short, sharp cry that came out when I sat up. It was uncomfortable, to say the least.

“Zoey, get back down.” Dev twisted around, his eyes widening.

“What are you doing?” Sarah sounded way more concerned than someone who recently shot me should.

“It’s my fault you’re here, Dev. I should never have let you come with me.” I got on my knees and took several quick breaths because the next part was the hard part. “I’m not going to let you die, Dev.”